Lawyer told Emergencies Act inquiry convoy protesters were receiving leaked police information

One of the lawyers representing some convoy organizers told the Emergencies Act inquiry the group was receiving leaked police information during the early days of the protests that blocked streets in downtown Ottawa.

Keith Wilson, who represents convoy organizers — including Tamara Lich and Chris Barber — is testifying Wednesday in front of the Public Order Emergency Commission, which is reviewing the federal government’s decision to invoke emergency powers to clear the crowds and vehicles that gridlocked the capital for more than three weeks last winter.

Before his testimony, Wilson sat down with commission lawyers for an interview. A summary of that interview was entered as an exhibit on Wednesday.

“Wilson is unaware of the sources, but the Freedom Convoy was receiving leaked information from law enforcement,” it reads.

“Eventually, the police caught on and appeared to launch ‘fake operations’ to throw off the Freedom Convoy participants and test where the leaks were coming from.”

Wilson’s statement does not say which police service he believes was leaking information.

The Ottawa Police Service has said it’s investigating a small number of officers who may have supported the Freedom Convoy since the early days of the illegal occupation in the downtown core. To date, only one Ottawa police officer has faced any formal prosecution for involvement in the convoy or the occupation — and that was for donating money. 

Last week, Ottawa Police Services Supt. Robert Drummond told the inquiry there were concerns within the service about leaks but he wasn’t aware of the status of the investigation.

“There was one member that I was aware of and we shut down his access to his corporate accounts,” he said.

“As a precaution, we shut down. He wasn’t currently working — he was on a leave of absence.”

According to documents previously released to CBC through an access to information request, the RCMP feared that serving Mounties could be sympathetic to the protests against pandemic restrictions.

“The potential exists for serious insider threats,” says a Feb. 10 advisory from the RCMP’s ideologically motivated criminal intelligence team.

“Those who have not lost their jobs but are sympathetic to the movement and their former colleagues may be in a position to share law enforcement or military information to the convoy protests.”

The RCMP later said it did not identify any “active insider threats within the RCMP that could have negatively impacted the organization’s ability to execute its mandate in relation to the Freedom Convoy.”

Tom Marazzo, Pat King also testifying today 

Wilson told the commission that former law enforcement officers, ex-military and ex-CSIS personnel were involved in the logistics of the protests and had access to radios, maps and aerial photos.

“Many of these ex-service personnel were connected and brought in intel,” said the interview summary. 

Wilson said they were co-ordinating fuel distribution and waste removal, managing the stage and dealing with problematic protesters.

Later on Wednesday, the commission will hear from one of those co-ordinators: Tom Marazzo, one of Wilson’s clients and an ex-military member who joined the convoy once it arrived in Ottawa to assist with logistics. 

High-profile organizer Pat King is expected to testify later this afternoon.

On Tuesday, the inquiry heard other participants had concerns about King’s involvement after he posted a video suggesting violence against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

King is facing charges of perjury, obstruction of justice, mischief and intimidation for his role in the protest, and was released on bail in July.